Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for managing a network system and a network device, and a network device and a control method therefor, and more particularly to a network system that coordinates with a network camera, and the like.
Description of the Related Art
Device management systems for managing image forming apparatuses such as business-oriented multi-function peripherals and printers have been provided. The object of these device management systems is to manage a list of image forming apparatuses that are installed and to have a handle on the utilization/operation status of each image forming apparatus. The image forming apparatuses record data on when a function was used, by whom and the extent of use as a job log for each of functions such as copy, scan and print. The device management system is able to provide a report relating to executed jobs, such as the proportion of color printing and the proportion of double-sided printing, by collecting and aggregating these job logs. Also, if an error occurs in an image forming apparatus, the device management system receives an error notification, and is thus able to get a handle on the operation status of the plurality of image forming apparatuses remotely in a centralized manner, and quickly carry out maintenance.
Meanwhile, surveillance and recording systems using network cameras have been provided for security applications and the like. Video taken by camera is recorded and stored as needed, and when a security-related problem occurs, current or past video can be checked or searched.
There are environments in which a network camera is introduced into an office as a measure against information leaks and the like, and actions such as removal of the output of image forming apparatuses from the office are monitored. In such an environment, conventionally the device management system and network camera are designed, built and operated as separate systems, and there is no means for associating events included in the log information of the image forming apparatuses with video taken by the network camera. In particular, since a network camera is generally built and operated as a closed network in order to transmit and receive large amounts of video data, coordinating with other systems or the like is comparatively difficult. Furthermore, since the video data of a network camera often includes privacy information about people and the like, coordinating with other systems on a public network such as the Internet is also problematic. Specifying video from events recorded in a log or, conversely, specifying events from video taken at the time is thus difficult given that neither a temporal association nor a geographical association is provided.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-104149 is given as an example of a conventional technology that allows an image forming apparatus to coordinate with a surveillance camera. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-104149 discloses a method for using light emission signals to check whether an image forming apparatus targeted for surveillance exists in video, when monitoring an image forming apparatus with a surveillance apparatus. However, this conventional technology merely reveals whether a specific image forming apparatus is shown in the video, and is not able to associate events included in the log information of an image forming apparatus with video taken by a network camera.